Rack or shelf.



P. L. BRYNING.

RACK 0R SHELF. APPLICATION FILED APR.17,1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

P. L. BRYNING.

RACK OR SHELF.

A1?PLIOATION FILED APB-17,1911.

Patented Oct. 8, 1912.

2 HEIGHTS-SHEET 2.

iPEBGY 'IED sTATns'Ii ATENI-f OFFICE.

. Y i I .,'BB,.' YNING, OF BROOKLINE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB TO BBYNINGSHELF come-Amie! nosrommassacnusnrrs, A conrona'rroiw or massaonusnr'rs;

RACK on SHELF.

Patented Oct. 8,1912.

Application filed April 1711911. Serial no. 621,440.

sections"that can be readily assembled to constitute'a rack or shelfOff-any desired length; t'o"provide'a'novel'manner of conmeeting theshelves to the brackets or supports whereby the shelves may be readilydetached for the purpose of being cleaned, or for'any 'other purpose;and to otherwise improve racks or shelves, all as will be more fullyhereinafter described and'then pointed out in the appended claims.

My'inven'tion can beembod'ied in racks or shelving capable ofuse'in'various locations,' such, for instance, 'as in cars, boats,

' school rooms, halls,' gymnasiums, etc., and

in order to illustrate the principle of the invention 1' have chosen toshow it as it might be embodied in a package or parcel rack for railwaycars, but I'w1sh to make it' clear that the invention is not confined inits use to this particular typeof rack. Referring to the drawingswherein I have shown some embodiments of my invention,

Figure 1 is a front view of a portion of a car rack embodying myinvention; Fig. 2 is a side-view of one section of a rack embodying myinvention; Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view on substantlally theline m-w Fig. 1, showing o'neway in which the shelf is locked to thebracket or and support; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one of thelocking rods; *ig. 5 is a perspective view of one end of one oftheshelves; Fig. 6 illustrates, the tie member; Fi 7 is a view somewhatsimilar to Fig. 3, ut showing a modified construction; Fig. 8 is afragmentary perspective view of a portion of the bracket shown in Fig. 7Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective'view of one end of the shelf in'conn'ction with the bracket 'sliowriin Fig. 8; Fig..10 is a section onsubstantially the line a-'-a, Fig. 2; Fig. 11-is a section-on the line bb, Fig.1; Fig. 12 is a section on the line cc, Fig. 2.

My improved shelving is made in sections and each section com rises twoend supports and a shelf sustained thereby. Where the rack or shelf isto be used as a parcel rack in railway cars, as shown in the drawings,the end supports will be'in' the form of brackets and of such a shape asto be fastened up to the wall of the car and as to hold "the shelfslightly inclined from the horizontal thereby to prevent the articlesthereon from being thrown off as usual in car racks.

' In my improvements I'propose to make the brackets and the shelving ofsheet metal .which is stamped 'or pressed into the desired shape. In thee'mbodimentof-the ihvention shown in Figs. 1 to 5, the two brack' etsfor each shelf are designated '1, and these are provided with ears or'flanges 2 by which they may be secured to the wall 3 of the car inusual way. ,The shelf which is supported by the'brackets is designatedgenerally by 4 and'itis made of sheet metal as stated above. The shelfwill preferably be provided with apertures 5 so as to ive it anopen-work appearance and will a be rovided with the transverse ribs6 togive 1t strength. Said ribs and apertures can be readily'formed bymeansof a .proper die or press. 'I will further preferably provide the shelfwith the longitudinal r1b 7 situated between the apertures 5 thereby tofurther stiffen the structure. The shelf is shown as having its frontand rear edges curved over, as shown at. 8 and 9, respectively,

thereby to present an ornamental appear-' ance, and also to provide whatamounts to a stiffening f flange that extends longitudinally of theshelf.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention each bracketis provided witha laterally-extending lip on which the 'shelf.

is supported, and I will preferably make each of said lips with anupwardlyand 1n wardly-directed portion and will provlde the end of eachshelf with a downwardly and inwardly-directed edge which sits in back ofthe upwardly-directed port1on of the lip,'thus providing for. lockingthe lip and fiange'together. 1 In the drawings the supportm lip on thebracket is designated- '10, an itcan conveniently be. formed by;bending-up the no lower edge of the blank from which the bracket is madeso as to form the lip having substantially the shape shown in Fig. 3,that is, a laterally-extending lip having the 5 upwardly and inwardl-directed portion 11. The flangeon the shel 4 is shown at 12 and can bemade by bending the end of the blank from which the shelf is made so asto constitute said flange, and this flange will preferably be givensubstantially the shape shown in Fi 3, and the lower edge 13 thereofwill be dlrected inwardly slightly. The shape of the flange 12 and lip10 are such as to permit the flange to be readily droppedinto placebehind the lip, as seen in Flg. 3. In order to secure the shelf to the.lip I have provided a locking member 14 which is inserted between theflange and.

the upwardl'yrdirected portion 11 of the lip and which by engagementwith the said portion 11 of the lip and the portion 13. of. the flangelocks the shelf to the bracket so that the shelf cannot be liftedofifromthe supporting lip. A, simple rod will answer the purpose, for itwill be readily observed that when the rod is inserted in place thespace between the body of the bracket 1- and the extremity of the lip 10is not .of suflicient width to permit the locking bar 14 and the flangeto be moved laterally therethrough. A

- The locking member 14 may be held m place in any suitable way eitherby its fr ctional engagement with the supporting lip and the flange, orby being provlded at its extremity with a screw-threaded port-mu 15, asshown in Fig. 4, which is adapted to have screw-threaded engagement witha nut. This-nut may be a portion 16 of the bracket, or may beseparate'therefrom. The locking rods will preferably be provided attheir outer ends with heads Which Will prevent the shelf from beingmoved forwardly on the lips 10. With this construction it will bereadily simply dropped into place and may then be locked in place byinserting the two locking members from the outer edge of the shelf.

' In constructing car racks it is customary to place several sections.end to end soas to provide what amounts to'a continuous rack. Myinvention is adapted for a sumlar. arrangement, as the brackets at theends of the sections can be placed closely together, as shown in Fig. 11n whlch-case a substantially continuous shelf is provided. I willpreferably make my brackets, skeleton in shape, as best seen in F g. 2,and with the lower ed e 17 of the opening 18 through each brac at sothat ltwill come at substantially the level of the shelf. This hasthe-advantage that the bracket does not present any obstruction abovethe plane of the upper surface of the shelf, and umvof sheet metalrolled or seen that theshelf can beportion 11, as above described, andthe shelf 18 formed in the bracket 1.

brellas, canes, and small parcels can be readily slipped through thebrackets from one shelf to another. Where the rack is" .thus made insections which are arranged with the ends abutting each other, it-isdesirable to tie the sections together so as. to i make a rigidstructure. I accomplish this herein by means of tie-members 19 which areadapted to tie together the outer ends ofthe locking members of ,two'adjacent sections. The tie members 19 may have any suitable shape, andeach is rovided with two apertures 20 through which the locking members14 extend. I will preferably make the tie-members of the shape shown inFigs. 1 and 6, so that it will fit over the front edge of the shelf andwill close the gap between the meeting ends of adjacent shelves. The tiemember may conveniently be made ressed Into shape. A tie member of thiss ape not only ties together the adjacent shelf sections but alsoconstitutes a finish for the front edge of the shelf which covers anygap between adjacent shelves, and also closes over and covers anyopening formed by the cutting away of the corners of the shelf duringits manufacture, as clearly seen in dotted' lines Fig. 5. Furthermore,the tiemember acts to support the front edges of the shelves where theyare not supported on the lips 10 and thus stiifens and adds strength andrigidity to the structure. v

. In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fi 1 to 5' the shelf 4 isprovided with e downwardly and inwardlydirected flange 12 at each endand two brackets set back to back are provided-at themeeting points ofthe adjacent rack sections. It'ls not necessary to my invention that theshelf should have this construction at both ends and that a lockingmember 14 should be employed at each end of the bracket 1 is providedwith the'lip 10 having the upwardly and inwardly-directed 4 will havethe flange 12, all as above described, to cotiperate with the'lip 10.The

adjacent shelf section 4, however, is 1'0- vid'edat its end with theextension 22w ich merely rests on the edge 17 of the opening 2 In orderto hold this end of the shelf down, I propose to provide the bracketwith a notch or notches 23 into which the corner pf the extension 22 isentered. Where this construc- 125 tion is employed I propose to form thebracket with the edge 17 at such alevel that when the shelf 4 is inposition it will be at the same level as the shelf 4. With thisconstruction a single bracket serves to 135.

no a

' hooks 25 on whi to be inserted into the curved edg supportthe meetingends of'two adjacent shelf sections.

I proposed to provide the brackets with c garments may be hung, and Ialso propose to provide a plurality of auxiliary hooks 26 which areprovided with the curved upper ends 27 that are 'adapted e 9 at the rearof the shelf. These auxiliary hooks can be readily inserted into placeor removed from the shelf and can also be adjusted longitudinally of theshelf to suit the convenience of the persons using the rack.

Where the invention is embodied in shelving of other types than packageracks for cars, the end supports may assume some other form thanbrackets and I do not wish to be limited to a construction in which theshelves are supported on brackets adapted to be attached to a wall.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1 In a shelf or rack, the combination with asheet metal end support having one edge thereof bent laterally to form asupporting lip, of a shelf sustained by said 11p, and means to lock theshelf to the lip.

2. In a shelf or rack, the combination with a metal end support havingan integral portion thereof at one edge bent laterally to form asupporting lip, of a shelf sustained by said lip, and means connectingsaid shelf and lip which holds the shelf against upward. movement.

3. In a shelf or rack, the combination with two end supports, one ofwhich has a laterally and upwardly-directed lip, of a shelf sustained bysaid end supports and bent at one end to constitute adownwardly-directed flange to enter behind the upw ardly-directedportion of the lip, and means to lock said flange and lip together.

4. In a shelf or rack, the combination with two end supports, one ofwhich has a laterally and upwardly-directed lip, of a sheet metal shelfsustained by said end supports and bent at one end to constitute a down-WfiI'dlY-dlIBCtEd flange to enter behind the upwardly-directed portionof the lip, and locking means extending longitudinally of the flange andlip and locking them together.

5. The combination with two brackets, each of which has a laterally andupwardlydirected lip with an inwardly-bent end, of a sheet metal shelfsustained by said brack ets and provided at each end with a downwardlyand bacluvardly-curved flange, said flanges being adapted to enterbehind said li s di nzilly of each lip and inserted between it and theflange thereby to lock the lip to the and a locking rod extendinglongitu-' one edge bent back on itself, and hooks detachably connectedto said backwardly-bent ed e of the shelf.

t. In a shelf or rack, the combination with two brackets, each of whichhas a laterally and upwardly-directed li with an inwardly.- bent end, ofa sheet metal shelf sustained by said bracket and provided at each endwith a downwardly and backwardlycurved flange, said flanges beingadapted to enter behind said lips, a locking rod extendinglongitudinally tween it and the flange thereby to lock the lip to theflange, and a nut engaging said rod thereby to prevent it from mg with:

of each lip and inserted be 8. In a shelf or rack, the combination withi a plurality of separate shelf sections arj ranged end to end, eachcomprising a pair of end supports and a shelf supported 1 thereby, jting the end support of the adjacent section,

one end support of one section abutof a tie member embracing the edgesof the shelves and connecting together the abutting end supports.

9. In a shelf or rack, the combination with a plurality of shelfsections, each shelf section comprising a pair of brackets, each havinga laterally and upwardly-directed lip, of a shelf sustained by said lipsand provided at each end with a downwardlyturned flange to enter behindthe lips, a lockin rod extending longitudinally of each l1p between itand the flange of the shelf, the brackets of two adjacent shelf sectionsabutting each other, and tie members tying together the locking rods onthe meeting ends of adjacent shelf sections thereby connecting saidsections.

10. In a rack, the combination with brackets, of a shelf supportedthereb and having one edge bent back on itsel and hooks detachablyconnected to said backwardly-bent edge of the shelf and adjustablelongitudinally thereon.

ll. In a shelf or rack, the combination with a plurality of shelfsections, each shelf section comprising a pair of brackets, each havinga laterally and upwardly-directed lip, of a shelf sustained by said lipsand provided at each end with a downwardlyturned flange to enter behindthe lips, a locking rod extending longitudinally of each lip between itand the flange of the shelf, the brackets of two adjacent shelf sectionsabutting each other, and tie members overlapping the meeting ends ofadjacent shelves and tying together the locking rods at said meetingends.

12. In a shelf structure, the combination with two end supports, each ofwhich has a laterally and upwardly-directed lip, of a shelf sustained bysaid end supports and bent at its ends to constitute downwardlydirectedflanges to enter behind the up wardly-directed means to lock sai flangesand to prevent upward movement relative to the end supports.

13. In a shelf structure, the combination with a plurality of separateshelf sections arran (1 end to end, each comprising a pair of-ensupports and a shelf supported thereby, the end support at one end ofone section abutting the end support at the end of the lips together 0 vother section, of a tie member embracing the meeting edges of the twoshelves, and means connecting said tie member to each shelf,

-said tie member covering the joint where the shelves meet.

14. In a shelf structure, the combination with a lnrality of separateshelf sections arranged end to end, each comprising a pair of endsupports and a shelf supported thereby, the end support at one end ofone section abuttmg'the endsupport at the endof the other "section, of ahe member embrac- E rtions of the lips,'and

the shelf supports.

ing the edges of the two shelves.

each shelf and to the abutting end supports, said tie member coveringthe joint where the shelves meet.

1-5. In a shelf structure, the combination with two end supports, eachof which has a laterally and upwardly-directed lip, of a shelf providedat its ends with downwardlydirected flanges that enter behind said lipsinterposed between the 'ps and flanges to lock them together and preventupward movement of the shelf relative to the end In testimony whereof, Ihave signed my of two subscrib' witnesses.

, ERCY L. BRYNING.

Witnesses: I

LOUIS C. SMITH, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND.

and means connecting said tie member to name to this specification, inthe presence and engage the end su ports, and means

